Tribute

yrreskrap1 Comment

Here it is. June 3rd.
Just five more days until I walk across that stage and receive my diploma.

Who knew high school went by as fast as they said it did?

My five year journey here at Ojai Valley School has been unforgettable.

I started out in 8th grade at the Lower Campus. Although it was a great change from a large school of over 2,000 students, the warm and inviting faculty and friends I met made the adjustment easy.

I had a great year learning how to camp, do my own laundry, and take on the responsibilities of living in a dorm. Not the mention, the close bonds I made with the girls I lived with. It was a different kind of bond than the most of the ones I made in public school. Having lived with these girls, I felt almost as if I was amongst sisters.

So, after graduating, the decision was easy. I knew I wanted to go to Upper for high school.

My freshman year, I roomed with my best friend from Lower, Wendy Lin.

Now let me say something about her. I have been my most vulnerable with Wendy. I opened up to her about things I never really shared with anybody else, and she did the same. So when we roomed together, it was like I was with family. We both knew each other enough not to argue. So when I say, although we had our ups and downs, I am generally talking about the ups when it comes to Wendy. When I think of my freshman year, she is among one of the first people that pop into my mind.

Then there is Lucy Kim. Ah, she is so dear to me. Not only did we click because of our similar humor, she lifted me up when I was down and always was there for me when I needed prayer requests. She also listened to me when I needed her and let me realize that  She even got us transportation to go to church on Sundays so that we could keep our faith, after I told her how hard it was not to go to church.

Cooper, Jeremy, Oussou and Parker. Boy, were they funny people. Of course, when you are that young, seniors seem so much older than they actually are, and these were the people I looked up to. They had close, lasting bonds that were connected by years of laughter. Although they probably had no idea, my senior year was affected so much by the optimism and attitude they brought to the school.

The first half of my sophomore year was spent at Beverly Hills High School. That semester was definitely a learning experience for me. The big public school experience was new to me, having been in a private boarding school of just over 100 students. Regardless, I returned to OVS with a newfound appreciation.

Junior year..was tough. It was full of all nighters and instant food. I was swamped with the workload of 4 AP’s and struggled with balancing time between my studies and my boyfriend of two years. But this is the year that I grew close to Jo Chen and Maddie, two of my best friends today! However, it was also the year that Jo, Maddie, Lucy, and my boyfriend had graduated so the graduation was marked with strong emotions.

This year, graduation means something completely different.

It means five years of going to school in Ojai is coming to a close. It means growth. It means Reika, Sungjin, and Anni. It means Mr. Alvarez’s words of encouragement and Mr. Cooper’s long speeches on integrity. It means Mr. Weidlich running with the lacrosse team and Mrs. Colborn’s team comp announcements. It means Chico’s waffles every Wednesday morning. It means Mrs. Allen’s bake sales and the IOU’s that follow. It means Haldy’s jokes and Eddy’s motorcycle videos and Mr. and Mrs. Boyd’s wonderful singing and camping trips with Mrs. Davis. It is so much.

It kind of makes me want to stay a little longer.

That’s how much I love this place.

Thank you everybody for making this experience what it was. It has been a fabulous 5 years. I loved every minute of it.

Get Out and Vote

therightliberalLeave a comment

This will be the first year that I can vote, and I am very excited for it.

Most of my friends don’t understand why I would be excited and why I care so much, which usually ends with me calling them ignorant.

To set the scene, I have gone over the ballots with my parents for as long as I can remember. They were not trying to brainwash me; they always asked me what I though of a proposition or a candidate before they spoke their mind.

I learned to read the laws and understand them in a greater sense. It was always something I enjoyed and became excited about. I was much more likely to be conversing with my teachers about politics than my peers.

And now I am able to actually vote. It feels like a freedom to me, something that is meant to be cherished. As much as my friends may go on about it not mattering if one person votes, it does. Especially in the primaries, one vote does matter.

I feel that if more children were exposed to politics and encouraged to be informed even though they could not vote, we would have much higher turn outs.

After all, a democracy does not work without voter participation. If we want to keep the freedoms that we hold dear, we must have a voice as a people. That starts, and ends, with have a politically educated youth system.

The Red Necklace

kirbyfullyloadedLeave a comment

I rather like audiobooks now.

I found this novel through Wikipedia, picking it up after discovering that the audiobook is read by my favorite actor, Tom Hiddleston.

I downloaded the audiobook, 6.6 hours of his beautiful voice, and finished it in 2 days.

I have bought several audiobooks and left them all unfinished.  I credit my inability to finish them to the fact that most of the readers have boring voices and their method of distinguishing each character is to merely lower or heighten the pitch of their voices throughout the dialogue.

However, not surprisingly, Tom Hiddleston broke that standard.

Tom Hiddleston

I could hardly tell one person was reading the book, the voices were so different.  He used a score of accents, ranging from his native English accent to Scottish, Irish, French, even vaguely Russian and more.

Aside from my obvious satisfaction with his reading, the book is quite gripping.

The title is a reference to the guillotine, the “bloody altarpiece” of the French Revolution, and to the necklace of red garnets found on murder victims throughout the book, the gems described as looking “drop of congealed blood.”

It tells the story of a Parisian Romani boy named Yann Margoza, a magician’s assistant and a young French aristocrat, Sidonie de Villeduval, at the time of the Revolution.

“Sido” is a beautiful, kind girl with a limp, and she is despised by her father, the Marquis de Villeduval.  The Marquis is obsessed with possessions and his estate, spending lavishly even though he is bankrupt.  He is indebted to the illusive and fabulously wealthy Count Kallivoski.

Following a fateful final performance, Yann is forced to flee to London.  He grows up, becoming a gentleman with a bright future.

Kallivoski has taken an unhealthy interest in Sido and blackmails the Marquis into consenting to a marriage between the two.  Yann embarks on a journey to save her from the Revolution and the Count alike.

It is an extremely well-written book.

Gardner writes exceedingly clever phrases to describe the setting and characters, using “varicose veins” to describe hidden passageways and citing that one man has an”entirely too generous helping of teeth.”

Check out this book or order it on amazon here!

Food Art

kirbyfullyloaded1 Comment

Food art.

I believe the media lacks focus on food art.

I’m sure I’m not alone when I say I used to take potato chips and try to figure out which one of my classmates the chip resembled.

Yeah.  You know you’ve tried this.

I like food art because it combines my two favorite things:

Food

and weird stuff.  Or cool stuff.  Take your pick.

Apple art was a new thing to me.  But I enjoy it immensely.

Seriously, is that not way too cool?

I wish I had the patience and skill to make food art.

But, unfortunately for me, I have no -or possibly negative- talent in art.

In fact, every time I get an “artsy” assignment in school,  my grade goes down.  Sometimes dramatically.

Read More »

TUMBLR!

rangerthecat1 Comment

I have had a Tumblr quite a while now. At first, it was a website that I would go on only if I had absolutely nothing else to do and I was just in bed, feeling lazy. Now, it has become a daily part of my life that I am getting more and more addicted to.

Tumblr is a social networking and blogging site. Like Facebook, each member has their own page where they post and share things. Following someone means that all of their posts will show up on your dashboard, which is kind of like a personalized home page different from every other members, because it has a different collection of things.

People write stories and post videos, but Tumblr is mostly filled with a plethora of photos. It is filled with photos of EVERY THING IMAGINABLE. And a lot of GIFs which are a cross between a little video and photo; it’s like a moving picture that has about 5 to 10 frames, generally speaking.

Now, Tumblr is not just somewhere to mindlessly and aimlessly look at photos of cool stuff and read funny little remarks. It’s a place to discover new things. I follow all different kind of blogs, including fan pages to my favorite shows, health blogs, self-improvement blogs, blogs for fashion, blogs for beauty, blogs for cute guys, blogs for bands/artists or music in general, blogs that post photos of animals. I even follow a blog dedicated to cats. But a blog can also just be a compilation of everything that interests the poster. I see a lot of things that I have never seen before and learn cool facts that I had not known about my favorite celebrities, bands, or shows.

One thing I really like about Tumblr is that for me, at least, it is reserved mostly for people that I don’t know. This way, I don’t have to be afraid of posting something people will criticize or annoy me about. Tumblr is sort of like special insight into my mind, and sometimes I would rather the people close to me stay a bit distanced from that.

It is just one of those awesome websites that I can’t live without… No, really, I like it that much. It’s an awesome way to pass the time and find out about cool, new things. If you don’t have one, I really suggest you get one! That is, if you’re not worried about falling into the Tumblr trap like I did and fall in love with it!

A week without running

thehungryrunnergirl1 Comment

… is killing me.

Track season ended so my college coach told me to take 10 days off of running. A lot of runners take a couple days off between the seasons to mentally and physically rest.

For the first 3 days, I was all down from the last race. After that, I was a little happy that I have more free time but today is my 7th day without running and it’s literally killing me. I’m getting stressed out and I don’t feel like I’m alive.

I can feel that I lost muscles. I have way less appetite from not working out. It’s just so strange; The last time I stopped running for a week was probably more than 4 years ago.

3 more days and I can run again!!! But I’m starting the workouts given from my college coach… I can’t believe the next race I’m running is a college cross country race… I will be the youngest and will be competing with college runners… Nervous but exciting. I have no idea what my next 4 years of running would be like.

Time.

yrreskrapLeave a comment

Wow.

11 days until graduation.
The college process seems so long ago.
Yet freshman year feels like just yesterday…

Time really does play with us in such a chaotic and wonderful way,
such banter and play.
We are so mortal.

And what is truly timeless?

Here is one of my favorite findings from Shakespeare’s Troilus and Cressida.

Achilles: I do believe it; for they pass’d by me
As misers do by beggars, neither gave to me
Good word nor look: what, are my deeds forgot?

Ulysses: Time hath, my lord, a wallet at his back,
Wherein he puts alms for oblivion,
A great-sized monster of ingratitudes:
Those scraps are good deeds past; which are decoured
As fast as they are made, forgot as soon
As done: perserverance, dear my lord,
Keeps honour bright: to have done is to hang
Quite out of fashion, like a rusty nail
In monumental mockery. Take the instant way;
For honour travels in a strait so narrow…
For time is like a fashionable host
That slightly shakes its parting guest by the hand,
And with arms outstretched, as he would fly,
Grasps in the comer: welcome ever smiles,
And farewell goes out sighing.

Anyways, this passage definitely gives me something to think about.
What I want my legacy to be..
How important something really is…
is it really worth my time?

is time really worth it?

Ch-Ch-Changes.

YourcupateaLeave a comment

Sunflower

It’s funny how much things can change in a year. This time last May I was still learning how to drive, and today I was confidently driving to LAX on my own. Yes believe it or not I actually can drive. Ok, you may argue not properly but I think I’m pretty pro despite the general consensus among others.

Any way moving on, it’s amazing how much things change and how we change as people over the course of a year. How we grow in different areas, in my mind, is a miracle.

Looking at my self today I am in some ways unrecognizable. I have more confidence, am more mature and actually can see my self in an adult manner. In my eyes I believe I have grown out of that pre adulthood rebellion and am actually acting the age I am.

With my noticed personal growth this year I can’t wait to see what I become in this next year and what changes I undertake.

Stanley CUP!!!!! I WAS RIGHT!!!!

backinphillyLeave a comment

Well, I called it. My team, the New Jersey Devils have taken down the New York Rangers and have secured their spot in the Stanley Cup Finals against the Los Angeles Kings. This has supreme potential to be one of the most exciting and nail-biting series in the history of the NHL. I’m gonna tell you why.

1. The Goalies-Martin Brodeur and Jonathan Quick are going to square off against each other, which usually isn’t a marquee matchup. Well, I’ll rephrase that. It will always be marquee. However, during the season, this wasn’t a matchup that was always seen. The Devils and Kings rarely play each other. These two teams are fairly unknown to each other.

2. The Defense-Offense mismatch-The Devils have flashed some brutal offense this postseason. They’ve been firing on all cylinders and have kept defenses on their toes. Personally, I believe the Devils could have easily exploited Henrik Lundqvist and the Rangers had they not been such superior shot blockers. However, the Kings’ defense is no easier. While they are not supreme shot blockers, they are fundamentally gifted. Players like Drew Doughty lead the defensive unit of the Kings. This will be a showdown.

3. Sheer Power-Both teams can hit. That’s no secret. Both powerplay units are above average, as are each team’s penalty kill units. The teams should still try to keep the hits under control.

This is going to be an astounding matchup. I predicted this matchup before the second round. I can’t wait to watch these games. It’s going to be something special.

Supercar Sunday

therightliberalLeave a comment

I get excited by cars. Most of my friends would tell you I get too excited by them, like in a dangerous way.

So naturally it was only right for me to indulge myself by visiting this lovely event called Supercar Sunday in Woodland Hills.

Let me start off by saying that most car shows are lame. They are usually just trying to make money by showing off regular cars with some tuning or old relics that most people don’t care about.

Supercar Sunday is different. Supercar Sunday is a bunch of people with veryyyyyyy nice cars that show up and park their cars so dumb teenagers like me can go look at them and get sexually excited.

They don’t charge, they aren’t selling anything, there is actually parking. This is a pure viewing experience of some of the greatest cars ever made.

There was a Ford GT40 (the real one), a real AC Cobra, more Caterham 7’s than you could believe. There was a Lotus Esprit, a Countach, and some Martini Porsches.

Then there were new cars like (every) modern Ferrari (minus the Enzo), tons of lambos, Aston Martins, 911s, Lotus’ (or is it Loti?) and even two Mp4-12C’s.

There were also some tuners and some cool oldies (MGs, a cool old Sprite, and some lovely Datsuns) that were fun to see.

It was incredible to walk among these cars and get to talk to people who have a real passion for them.

Thanks to a good idea from my friend, we decided to go sit at the corner as the cars started to leave. Holy crap was this a good idea.

Despite there being numerous cops watching every street (the drivers waved at them and rev’d their engines to say hello) it was cool to be able to hear all the V8s and V12s (and a couple of V10’s (yay lambo!). I couldn’t help but quiver every time a Ferrari V8 was rev’d and the sounds of clutches slipping filled the air.

This is a great event because it is run by people who love cars, not by people looking to make money. I didn’t pay a dollar and yet I got to have the best car viewing experience of my life. A major hat tip to those people that throw Supercar Sunday!

P.S. The best Sunday to go is the last one of the month, that is when it is really big. If you are anywhere near Woodland Hills and have any interest in cars, go! you won’t regret it.